7 Indians, 5 BPOs indicted in US call centre scam

Chicago: As many as 15 people, including seven Indians, and five India-based call centres have been indicted in a multimillion-dollar scam which defrauded over 2,000 US citizens, resulting in over $5.5 million in losses, the Department of Justice said on Friday. The five India-based call centres that have been indicted are Excellent Solutions BPO, ADN Infotech Pvt Ltd, Infoace BPO Solutions Pvt Ltd, Adore Infosource, Inc and Zurik BPO Services Pvt Ltd.

The scam involved call centre operators who called potential victims while impersonating officials from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) or individuals offering payday loans, US Attorney Byung J Pak said. Later, they threatened the victims with arrest, imprisonment or fines for failing to pay taxes or penalties to the government, the Justice Department said.

In connection with the scheme, seven individuals were arrested on Thursday in the United States. Seven co-conspirators and five call-centres based in Ahmedabad were also charged for their alleged involvement. The indictment alleges that the defendents were involved in a sophisticated scheme organised by co-conspirators in India, including a network of call centres in Ahmedabad.

"IRS and payday loan phone schemes seek to profit by exploiting United States citizens, including the most vulnerable members of our community," said the US Attorney.

Between 2012 and 2016, the defendants perpetrated a complex fraud and money laundering scheme in which individuals from call centres located in Ahmedabad frequently impersonated officials from the IRS or US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) in a ruse designed to defraud victims located throughout America. The Indian call centres used various telephone fraud schemes to defraud mainly vulnerable Americans, including the elderly and legal immigrants.

Using information obtained from data brokers and other sources, call centre operators allegedly called potential victims while impersonating officials from the IRS or individuals offering fictitious payday loans. The call centre operators would then threaten potential victims with arrest, imprisonment, or fines if they did not pay taxes or penalties to the government, the indictment alleges.PTI